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IWF Royal Rumble (2000)
Royal Rumble 2000 was the thirteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It took place on January 23, 2000 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The main event was the Royal Rumble match, which The Rock won by last eliminating The Big Show to win the match. Featured matches on the undercard included a street fight match between Triple K and Cactus Jack for the IWF Championship, a Triple Threat match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship, and The New Age Outlaws versus The Acolytes for the IWF Tag Team Championship. This Royal Rumble was the first IWF pay-per-view event to air on terrestrial television in the United Kingdom, as Channel 4 had acquired the rights to broadcast World Wrestling Federation programming that year. Background The main feud going into the event was between Triple K and Jon Foley. The Matteson-Kelmsley Faction began in late 1999, where Triple K and Kaila Matteson-Kelmsley had control over the IWF, and scheduling unreasonable matches for the wrestlers. Foley objected to this, and the faction attacked several times before finally firing him. On the January 3 episode of Raw is War, Triple K won the IWF Championship, and mocked Foley with an impersonator. On the January 10 episode of Raw is War, The Rock brought every superstar to the ring, demanding that Foley be reinstated or the entire roster would walk out. Foley was reinstated, and he requested a Street Fight for the IWF Championship at Royal Rumble. Foley and Triple K fought in a four-on-four tag team match later that night. Triple K pinned Foley after using the ring bell, and delivering two Pedigrees. After the match, Foley took off his mask, and attacked Triple K. On the January 13 episode of SmackDown!, Foley returned to his Cactus Jack persona (with a more violent and psychotic character) by taking off his Mankind attire to reveal his Cactus Jack attire. Buildup towards the Royal Rumble match began on January 10, when The Rock announced his participation in the match and a week later guaranteed victory. The Big Show also declared his intention to win the match. Later that night, The Rock and The Big Show faced the New Age Outlaws. At the end, Big Show attacked The Rock, who then hit Big Show with a steel chair, and a People's Elbow. On the January 20 episode of SmackDown!, a confrontation between The Big Show and The Rock was interrupted by Tori, who declared Kane the favorite, leading to a Triple Threat Over-the-Top-Rope Lumberjack match. In the match, the Big Show eliminated The Rock with a chokeslam, and Kane eliminated The Big Show with a back body drop to win, sparking a fight involving all the competitors and lumberjacks. Another feud going into the event was between Another feud going into the event was between Chris Jericho, Chyna and Hardcore Holly over the IWF Intercontinental Championship. On the December 30 edition of SmackDown!, a title match between Chyna and Jericho ended in a double pinfall. On the January 3 edition of Raw is War, both were declared co-champions. Afterwards, Holly challenged Chyna for the title, and Jericho helped her retain. Jericho and Chyna were forced to work together, and this created tension between them. The title situation would be solved in a Triple Threat match between Jericho, Chyna and Holly. Event Aftermath Results ; ; *Tazz defeated Kurt Angle (3:16) *The Hooper Boyz (Josh Hooper and Matt Hooper) defeated Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley in a Tag Team Elimination Table Match (10:18) *Mae Young defeated Ivory, Terri Runnels, Jacqueline, B.B., Luna Vachon & The Kat in a Miss Rumble 2000 Swimsuit Competition *Chris Jericho © defeated Chyna © and Hardcore Holly in a Triple Threat Match for theIWF Intercontinental Championship (7:30) *The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) © defeated The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) to retain the IWF World Tag Team Championship (2:35) *Triple K defeated Cactus Jack in a Street Fight for the IWF Championship (26:51) *The Rock won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating The Big Show (51:49) Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds. |} Other on-screen talent Trivia *This was one of two International Wrestling Federation events that featured a IWF logo with a green base as opposed to the usual red base. The other event was WrestleMania 2000. See also *List of IWE pay-per-view events *WWE Event History *Royal Rumble DVD Release External links